The invention relates to an apparatus and method for automatically and continuously lubricating an industrial rotary drive during operation.
Many industrial production processes involve the continuous operation of rotary machinery. Full production depends on the continuous and reliable operation of the machinery without breakdowns. For example, in the production of many polymer extrusions and films, it is necessary to continuously drive a polymer pump with a rotary drive. The rotary drive typically includes a pump shaft which is connected to a motor shaft. The connection between the pump shaft and motor shaft typically includes a universal or gear shaft coupling. The coupling may include one or more universal joint couplings or gear couplings. Either type coupling has numerous points which must be lubricated for continuous and reliable operation. In the past, suitable systems and techniques have not been provided for such lubrication. If the production is stopped to manually lubricate the couplings, time is lost since there is considerable downtime involved with stopping and starting the production process. Furthermore, it is difficult to achieve the same quality of product when the process is stopped and restarted. Invariably, there will be differences in the product quality with the cessation and resumption of the production process because of the many variables involved in the production process and the difficulty in reestablishing the parameters after the process is resumed under which the process was previously being run. If the production is not stopped for servicing of the couplings, a complete failure of one or more bearings or couplings may occur. If a bearing or coupling failure occurs, considerable downtime is required in order to disassemble the equipment for the repair and replacement of the broken parts. Typically, the disassembly of the production machinery, drive shafts, and couplings requires hours or days to repair or replace. During this time considerable production is lost and it is difficult to achieve the same quality of product upon resumption.
Prior systems have been developed for lubricating rotating shafts during operation, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,456,760 discloses a pair of driven rolls which are connected to a drive shaft through a swivel joint which may be lubricated continuously during operation through an axial bore which communicates between a source of oil and the joint. U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,855 discloses an automatic greaser for a universal joint that enables the joint to be lubricated continuously during rotation. However, none of the above prior apparatus and methods for greasing a rotary drive is entirely suitable for large industrial rotary drives utilized in the industrial production of polymer products and the like.
Accordingly, an important object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus method for automatically lubricating the bearings of shaft couplings associated with an industrial rotary drive continuously during operation.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a lubricating system for an industrial rotary drive which continuously dispenses a prescribed amount of lubricant to the bearing joints of shaft couplings in the rotary drive during operation.
Still, another important object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for automatically and continuously lubricating shaft couplings of an industrial rotary drive during operation which provides for periodic dispensing of a prescribed amount of lubricant to multiple points along the rotary drive from a logistical manifolded location.